JEDDAH: Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) has tightened restrictions on cash withdrawals from banks using credit cards in an effort to head off any consumer debt problems.“The move by SAMA is in line with global best practice that is mindful of consumers and their protection,” commented John Sfakianakis, Middle East director at Ashmore Group.“Also the move is in line with retail credit that is made available by banks in the non credit card consumer business that is capped at 30 percent. All in all this is a timely move,” he told Arab News.Previously, under an informal industry arrangement customers could obtain cash advances equivalent to as much as 50 percent of their monthly credit card spending limits, paying hefty fees to do so, bankers told Reuters.From last Thursday, an official ceiling of 30 percent has been imposed, according to regulations posted on the central bank’s website...

JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman arrived in the Moroccan port city of Tangier on a private vacation on Sunday.Upon arrival at Tangier Airport, King Salman was received by Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane, Tangier Gov. Mohammed Yaqubi and a number of senior civil and military officials.King Salman was also received by Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Mohammed and Saudi Ambassador to Morocco Abdu...

RIYADH: Some 1,500 certified documents with proper identity are issued on average to Yemenis from the Jazan region daily. More than 400,000 Yemenis have corrected their residency status from all parts of the Kingdom.The announcement was made during a visit to the Yemeni correction centers in the Jazan region by a special team headed by Maj. Gen. Jamaan Al-Ghamdi, assistant director general for security affairs.The committ...

RIYADH: A report of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage predicts the rate of growth in job opportunities in the country's tourism sector between 2010 and 2020 will be 10 percent a year as compared to a global growth rate of 2.5 percent for the same period. The report pointed out t...

RIYADH: The general elections committee has approved 1,236 poll centers in 284 municipalities and secretariats across the Kingdom, as the first phase of the third municipal elections that will be launched on Aug. 22.Additionally, 250 spare centers will be opened if the need arises and if the approved centers reach their ful...

JEDDAH: Two million meningitis vaccines have been distributed among health centers in 20 governorates and provinces across the Kingdom for domestic Haj pilgrims.It is mandatory for all pilgrims to be vaccinated against meningitis and for those coming from abroad to be vaccinated against meningitis as well as other contagiou...

JEDDAH: Jamil Farsi, head of the Gold and Jewelry Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), says he expects 3,000 job opportunities to be created for Saudi women in the jewelry design and gold sector across the Kingdom, with about 10 women working in each manufacturing workshop.The efforts of the Tech...

JEDDAH: Cases of clashes between spouses such as accusations of adultery recorded a 70 percent drop in Saudi courts during the last Hijri year as against the year before. However, divorce cases increased by 35 percent. The first type of these cases, cursing between spouses, is different from the second as the first is with...

JEDDAH: A Saudi citizen was killed in shelling fired across the border from Yemen into the southwest of Saudi Arabia on Sunday, local media reported.A shell fell on a house around dawn in Najran province, civil defense department spokesman Ali bin Omair Al-Shahran was quoted as saying in the report.Houthi militias and force...

JEDDAH: Female voters in Al-Ahsa have urged the authorities handling the municipal elections to drop the condition of presenting the national identity card while enrolling themselves in the voters’ list. Some women in Madinah too have appealed for more time for voter registration so that they can acquire the identiy cards.T...

RIYADH: The National Water Co. (NWC) has announced that it has completed a water network project in Taif. The project will serve 14 localities as part of Taif’s infrastructural development plans, according to a website. Said Al-Umari, a senior manager of the services of assets and projects in Makkah, said that the NWC has i...

JEDDAH: Although the Ministry of Labor is opening its doors to receive complaints from private sector employees, many Saudi females employed in cosmetic and perfume shops in Madinah are not making complaints about being overworked due to fear of losing their jobs and source of income. Shop owners in Madinah have been overwo...

JEDDAH: After the recent incident of a rat eating from a bowl at a well-known food outlet in a Jeddah mall came to light, residents have called for food hygiene ratings of restaurants and roadside eateries across the city.Although the municipality works hard to maintain hygiene at different food outlets and is committed to...

JEDDAH: A muezzin (one who recites the Adhaan) of a Riyadh mosque recently sprung a surprise in the Austrian tourist town of Zell am See by his Adhaan after taking permission from members of a musical band.Social media is abuzz with the news and video clip of the Adhaan showing a guitarist and some Austrians quietly listeni...

RIYADH: A Sri Lankan national, who works as a cleaner in the Kingdom, was commended and rewarded by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH) for returning a bag containing gold to its owner.“Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of SCTNH, instructed the commission’s branch in Najran to thank the owner of...

JEDDAH: Information and Culture Minister Adel Al-Toraifi has approved the appointment of Khalid Bo-Ali as editor in chief of the Eastern Province-based Alsharq Arabic newspaper. He was nominated for the post by the board of directors of the newspaper’s publishers.Bo-Ali was the acting editor in chief of the newspaper. He is...

ALGIERS: OPEC member Algeria has increased crude oil output by 32,000 barrels per day after starting production at two fields, an Energy Ministry official said on Sunday.Production increased on Saturday when the Bir Sebaa field started producing 20,000 bpd in addition to 12,000 bpd from the Bir Msana field in Hassi Messaoud...

DUBAI: Stock markets across the Middle East fell on Sunday after oil prices dropped again and Saudi Arabia, heavily influenced by the petrochemicals sector, led losses, hitting a four-month low.The main Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index sank 3.2 percent to 8,807 points, its biggest daily loss since late March, with nearly all s...

ATHENS: Attention will be focused on Greece’s embattled banks on Monday when the Athens stock exchange reopens after a six-week shutdown over the country’s debt crisis.The banks are in a vulnerable position because of outflows of billions of euros (dollars) from deposits over the past six months.Some 40 billion euros ($44 b...

BEIJING: Downward pressure on China’s economy will persist in the second half of the year as growth in infrastructure spending and exports is unlikely to pick up, a senior central bank official was quoted as saying.Chinese companies are not optimistic about business prospects according to the central bank’s second-quarter s...

LONDON: Now that US Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen has made it clear she’s looking out for “some” improvement in the job market before voting for the first Fed interest rate rise in nearly a decade, so is everyone else.The challenge is that the US economy is generating very little inflation — not to mention disinflation...

JUBAIL: The Saudi electricity sector needs an estimated SR700 billion investment in the next 10 years with a large percentage expected from the private sector, said Saleh bin Hussain Al-Awaji, deputy minister for water and electricity and chairman of the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC).New plans were launched for the establ...

CAIRO: Egypt expects to import 28.6 million tons of crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other oil products worth a total of almost $16 billion in 2015-16, the planning ministry said.The government expects to buy 7.79 million tons of LNG for $3.55 billion and 6.37 million tons of crude oil for $3.51 billion, the minis...

LAHAINA, Hawaii: Pacific Rim trade ministers failed to clinch a deal on Friday to free up trade between a dozen nations after a dispute flared up over auto trade between Japan and North America, New Zealand dug in over dairy trade and no agreement was reached on monopoly periods for next-generation drugs.Trade ministers fro...

BEIJING: Growth at China's big manufacturing companies unexpectedly stalled in July as demand at home and abroad weakened, an official survey showed on Saturday, reinforcing views that the economy needs more stimulus as it faces fresh risks from a stock market slump.The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 50....

FRANKFURT/SAN FRANCISCO: BMW and Apple may rekindle a courtship put on hold after an exploratory visit by executives of the world's top maker of electronic gadgets to the headquarters of the word's biggest seller of premium cars.Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook went to BMW's headquarters last year and senior Apple executives...

BRUSSELS: Euro zone inflation was unchanged in July as a further decline of energy prices negated the impact of more expensive industrial goods and services, leaving the European Central Bank with more work to do to push up prices.The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said that consumer prices in the 19 countries...

TOKYO: Japanese electronics giant Sharp said Friday its net loss widened in April-June as it struggles through a painful restructuring and weak sales of display screens and smartphones.The Osaka-based firm reported a 33.98 billion yen ($274 million) shortfall in the first fiscal quarter, much more than the 1.79 billion yen...

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RIYADH: Artists from the Kingdom were the cynosure of all eyes at the Shubbak Festival, a window on contemporary Arab culture, which kicked off on July 11 and concluded on July 26 with a series of events to bring Arab culture to the limelight in London.Aimed at popularizing the rich Arab culture and celebrate the growing influence of Londo...

WASHINGTON: Microsoft began rolling out its Windows 10 operating system Wednesday, aiming to revive the tech giant’s fortunes, especially in mobile and the “Internet of Things.”The stakes are high for Microsoft as it pushes out the new operating system for both traditional computers and mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones....

Our concept of style is heavily burdened with the prerequisite norm to change it whenever possible. After all, it’s a good thing to do. If we don’t, then we are going to be looked at with abomination. Why risk it when we all know that diversity brings more zing to life! Nowhere is it more evident than in the highly extraordinary shoes desi...

RIYADH: A report of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage predicts the rate of growth in job opportunities in the country's tourism sector between 2010 and 2020 will be 10 percent a year as compared to a global growth rate of 2.5 percent for the same period. The report pointed out that job opportunities in the tourism sect...

Ramadan is a month of fasting and starving the body and soul from food and other temptations. However, this does not prevent people from gaining weight due to all the suhoor and iftar invitations and gatherings. Going back to the regular routine and lifestyle is not easy after the holy month of Ramadan, the body gets used to not consuming food until the sun sets and then consuming large amounts of foods until sunrise. The cherry on the top is Eid, which is Ramadan’s sweet ending. Muslims celebrate this occasion by gathering together around a feast of traditional and international dining tables with plenty of sweets and cakes doing the rounds.“In Ramadan many people put on weight mainly...

She began her career with a government job, but being unsatisfied with it, she decided to have another source of income. And her journey in doing so was short and sweet. With ‘Munch Bakery,’ she created a global brand. We are talking about the brilliant businesswoman Princess Hala bint Mishari Al-Saud, who counts self-confidence, courage and ambition as the driving force behind her success.She said family is the primary motivation for success in public life.“Success increases with the increased faith of the family in the aspirations of the children,” Princess Hala said. She is the only daughter in the family and her mother encouraged her constantly, which made her take steps with confidence...

Ever since its first edition in 1963, this life-changing classic has been republished. “The Power of Your Subconscious Mind” has shown millions of readers all around the world how to use the power of your subconscious mind. You do not need to acquire this power. You already possess it but you can become more powerful, wealthier and happier if you learn how to use it.“When your mind thinks correctly, when you understand the truth, when the thoughts deposited in your subconscious mind are constructive, harmonious, and peaceful, the magic working power of your subconscious will respond and bring about harmonious conditions, agreeable surroundings, and the best of everything. When you begin to...

CAIRO: From refugee camps to the world of Arab Idol, Mohammed Assaf’s story continues to travel. Its latest destination? The silver screen.Oscar-nominated filmmaker Hany Abu Assad, a Palestinian like Assaf, has loosely based his film ‘The Idol — Ya Tayr Al Tayer’ on the pop star’s life. Based in Cairo and Beirut but filmed primarily in Jordan, the drama follows its protagonist’s journey from simplicity to superstardom, mixing humor with sorrow and struggle with hope.The biopic will premiere at Toronto International Film Festival in September. Assaf may attend.The singer’s new video, the...

MUMBAI: Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan will be allowed back in to Mumbai’s main cricket stadium after a five-year ban was lifted on Sunday, Indian media reported.Khan was banned from Wankhede stadium by Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) after a late-night row with staff at the grounds in May 2012.NDTV reports the ban was lifted a couple of years early since Khan has already served a substantial period ‘respectfully’. Khan is the owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders IPL team. The MCA said Khan entered the ground after a game, misbehaved and used foul language when officials asked him to leave....